Tripmode33

On 7/21/2023 at 2:54 AM, rainbowflag said:

Carnival will now serve both desserts in the MDR and in the buffet. Unfortunately, in the past few years we have noticed both desserts in the buffet are made with gelatin. With the cheesecake this is done to use less cream cheese and with the pie they can use less sweetened condensed milk.

 

They save money but the true price we pay is with a poor quality product, e.g. you should not be able to press down on a slice of cheesecake and watch it bounce back up! 

That's useful information. Thanks. My husband has Alpha Gal Mammalian Meat Allergy (caused by a tick bite) which can be life threatening, and gelatin is one of the hidden ingredients he needs to avoid.  It's sometimes used in deserts you don't expect it in.

For those disappointed with Princess wine offerings, I feel your pain!

As NSWP states, De Bortoli Willowglen is the same wine as the De Bortoli Sacred Hill retail range. $4.45 bottle at Dan's today and $5 at First Choice. Rediculous!  Good salesmanship by De Bortoli I'd say.

But what surprises me most is why, on both Carnival Luminosa and P&O Encounter recently I can purchase Masterpeace Merlot and Katnook Cabernet Sav for $39 and $42 respectively when Princess charges me $77 and $98 for EXACTLY the same wine!

We use the ANZ card cover for cruising. There is a handy webpage to 'check your cover ' (underwritten by Allianz) where you enter your type of card, destination (I always select worldwide) and dates of trip. They then send you a certificate via email which shows the cruise and covid cover on page 2.  This is what we show when boarding a cruise to New Caledonia where this cover is required.

Similar to answer above, we never require more than $20000 cancellation cover.

We did Princess  northbound then land tour. 

I have a question for those that have done Princess cruise+land in Alaska. Both us and our travelling companions came away wishing we had done a 14 day cruise, up and back, rather than include a Princess land tour. We found the land portion under-whelming compared to the amazing cruise. Did anyone else feel this way?

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

Yes. That is where the pizza with a couple of drinks is a great way to end a night, best shared with friends. For me, pizzas are one of Carnival's standouts. Not only the late night ones, but the bacon & egg breakfast pizzas (has been a while, please tell me they still do them).

 

The international café on Princess is great, but mostly only if you want another dessert or something reheated by sandwich press or microwave. 

No breakfast pizza on Carnival Luminosa as pizza closed about 4am and didn't reopen until 11am. Pre-covid I think they were 24 hours.  You could get a breakfast burrito from the Mexican place though but I didn't try.

I'll be checking out Splendor next month.

Great they'll be having a late night snack menu soon. 

On 7/10/2023 at 1:54 PM, cruiseyboy said:

 

1) Looks like New Caledonia isn’t requiring COVID specifically mentioned so now we can use our Westpac card insurance (which does mention cruise)

 

That's great news. I haven't been able to find this  New Caledonia update online anywhere. Did your cruise line let you know?

Our friends, both in early 70s, had same issue after joining us for 7 day cruise to Noumea earlier this year. They had picked up a very low price Luminosa but then got the sting re insurance requirements. After a lot of research, they found the least expensive meeting the requirements was Allianz. So maybe worth a quote.  Whether they chose to cover all their pre-existing ailments I'm not sure.

My ANZ Credit Card has been worth it's weight in gold for it's free covid and cruise insurance this past year.  I know, that once retired, it's hard to successfully apply for new credit card, but I wonder if any banks have Debit Cards that include insurance. Someone once told me they had one, with small monthly fee, but I can't remember the details.

Received an email today from Carnival. Their cruises, on both Splendor and Luminosa, that included Moreton Island (Tangalooma) visits have now had timing altered and guests will no longer be able to partake in the Wild Dolphin experience.  This applies right through to 2025 itineraries.

We're there next month on our first Splendor cruise but weren't planning to view dolphins. But I realise there will be disappointed cruisers who were hoping to do so.

We're planning just to do the walk behind the resort with a side track to view the sand dune 'desert' as well as walk the beach.  We're avid snorkelers but, like many Queenslanders, wouldn't risk snorkeling the Wrecks due to number of sharks calling this area home.

Extremely disappointing news. Interesting to see if anyone challenges it before our next Princess cruise in November.

On a side note, one positive for some cruisers is that our travel agent has recently advised that Princess now allows only one member of a couple to take the Plus Package rather than their previous rule that both must have it.

9 hours ago, Kiwi_cruiser said:

 

How long did it take you to get the login code?

The first one, the code came through the next day. The second time, I waited a week then hopped on the online chat feature and they provided it to me straight away.

My last two Princess folio refunds were through the HSBC Service. Worked well. I assume other Carnival ship lines would also be using it.  Hope you get the refund sorted soon.

I think there's plenty of seating directly outside cafe in shared pubic area of terminal. Where the in-transit guests sit to use terminal wifi until they re-board for next back-to-back.

Completed our first P&O Australia cruise earlier this month (Encounter). Usually sail Princess.

Re Dining, we had selected 'Early' on our details page via their cruise control webpage. We had not made any reservations.  On arrival in our cabin there was a well set out letter stating that they had made reservations for every day of the cruise, not just the first three days. It set out the venue and time, and rotated through the three included evening dining venues.  If you wanted to change, simple matter to pop down to Dragon Lady and discuss changes on embarkation day. This is also advised if you have a preference for sharing or private table.

This system worked well for us and we really enjoyed all three venues.

We were impressed with our first P&O cruise.

If seeking further information, also consider posting on the general CC Board for Australia and New Zealand - it is used frequently by a great group of cruisers willing to offer helpful advice.

13 hours ago, shine2 said:

Hope you enjoyed Colombo! Safe Travels to Oman! Take Care & enjoy the ship - agrre about temps - Bring on Summer 

Apparently Oman will be missed due to continuing engine problems - heading straight to Dubai. Hopefully they'll be able to fix engine and other issues in Dubai.

The Grand is also our favourite ship. Enjoy!

I'll also recommend Alfredo's restaurant for nice pizza and ambiance. But, seeing you have a drink package, I'll also recommend Vines right next door to Alfredo's. Much nicer wines by the glass than what we found at other bars or dining rooms.

When we disembark in Sydney, we make it a rule to never book a domestic flight before 1pm. This is particularly important if coming into Sydney from New Zealand as have had a few delayed arrivals on that route. If coming from another Australian Port, a delay is less likely. I would be looking at afternoon flights for international - even 3pm onwards. Rather have a few hours to fill in at airport than the stress of worrying if you'll make check-in or needing to reschedule.

Princess transfers are around $AUD25 and probably easier if bulky luggage. We normally take the train.

Have you considered breaking the seven nights in Sydney and doing an overnight (or even two nights) in Blue Mountains? Rather than a day trip. Easy train to Katoomba (walk to Three Sisters, even walk to Leura Cascades from here). You could leave bulk of luggage at Sydney hotel. Most offer this service.

On 5/29/2023 at 7:56 AM, cruise_critical said:

No, they do not look at the time stamps of each photo (would drag the entire boarding process like crazy) but do try to at least take it at the right time for better conscience ofc. Then just take a photo of the (negative) RAT test like below and that's it. They ask for the RAT test photo, and when you show them on your phone, they just take a glance at it for 1 second and let you through.

 

e.g. (random photo I found on the net)

Remember though the photo requires three items in photo: a government issued photo ID and your RAT test along with device showing date and time.

We've never been asked to show photo, nor have any of our cruising friends. They simply ask if you've done the RAT and have never wanted to see photo. This was at six cruises in past six months (Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne embarkations).

Thanks for the review.

We've booked back to back cruises on the Splendor for August/September. Really looking forward to them. Brisbane is our home port so fortunate to try out Luminosa for three cruises - really enjoyed and great value.

Thanks for taking time to post your experience and great photos.

The pre-cruise covid test is still a current requirement in Australia. We've boarded three different cruise lines in last two months, including Princess.  Today we do another RAT covid test to photograph before boarding ship tomorrow.  Many folk consider it quite a joke as it's a self-test and stories abound that people are photographing any negative test they can get their hands on.  We're due to enter our fifth wave of covid here so many do still care, but there is little evidence of mask wearing onboard or other extra covid precautions.

I would be very surprised if they don't drop the testing requirement before your cruise next year.  I wouldn't let it impact your travel planning.

Thanks everyone for your responses. Much appreciated. We now feel confident we'll be fine without App.

Very much looking forward to our first P&O cruise. It would be great to find a line that operates through our winter from our homeport in Queensland.  Most of our cruises post covid have been from Melbourne or Sydney on Princess, with a couple from Brisbane on Coral Princess. We're now trying out different lines, including a few on Carnival Luminosa which we enjoyed. Have booked Carnival Splendor for later this year. 

We are boarding our very first P&O cruise in a week (Encounter 7 Nights), and yesterday attempted to download the P&O App. My phone is barely 2 years old but doesn't support the App.

So, a few questions to experienced P&O cruisers as to whether we'll have problems without the App.

On Princess and Carnival we mainly use App for checking onboard account and dining room menus and reservations.

I guess we can ask for account printouts at guest service desk or are there machines?

As to dinner reservations: Are menus posted outside restaurant like on Princess?  I have read Waterfront rotate their menu every three days. Do the other two included dining restaurants stay the same or also rotate menus?

From other posts, it seems we will be allocated dining reservations across the three as per a notice that will be in our cabin?  After trying one or two, I assume we can change bookings if availability. Without an App, is there a phone line or do we go to an individual restaurant and request in person?

Finally, is there a way to request a Table for Two prior to arrival at dinner?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Under the new system, if you pay with a pre purchased "Future Cruise Deposit", do you lose this if choosing 'Princess Chooses' option and want to later change or cancel?

4 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

Not allowed in the States. Though. Some good NA beers here from craft brewers.  Carnival ships have Heineken Zero on board.

That's a shame. Here, we're not allowed to take the one bottle of wine on that you're allowed to in the States. 

On 4/15/2023 at 12:10 PM, Bostwick girl said:

 Hoping one day soon they will all be smoke free!

Come over to Australia - all ships, all cruise lines, smoke free inside.